Bridgeway to celebrate 50th anniversary at dinner

In this week’s PEOPLE cover story, Mariah Carey reveals for the first time her battle with bipolar disorder
Time

Bridgeway Rehabilitation Services will host the 50th Anniversary Chairman’s Dinner at the Kean University STEM Building in Union on Wednesday, May 2. Ed Murphy, one of the original founders of Bridgeway, will accept the Distinguished Advocate Award.(Photo: ~Courtesy of Bridgeway Rehabilitation Services)

ELIZABETH – Bridgeway Rehabilitation Services will host the 50th Anniversary Chairman’s Dinner at the Kean University STEM Building in Union on Wednesday, May 2. The event will honor leaders of Bridgeway and the impact Bridgeway has had on state communities.

Bridgeway is a nonprofit mental health services agency whose mission is to assist those Central and North Jersey residents who have the most severe mental disabilities yet have the potential to recover, be self-sufficient and live in and contribute to their communities, according to a news release.

For 50 years, Bridgeway has provided services to adults who are facing multiple challenges that are prevalent in people with mental illness. Bridgeway services are available in 11 Central and North Jersey counties.

Ed Murphy, one of the founders of Bridgeway, will accept the Distinguished Advocate Award. Murphy has been an advocate for people with disabilities and their families in the state for nearly 50 years.

He was executive director of the Mental Health Association of Union County and was Administrator of Bridgeway until it was established as a separate entity. For 13 years, he served as executive director for the Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey until he retired in 2012. Murphy continues to work part time for SHA as director of agency operations and editor of the SHA news bulletins.

Bridgeway will also honor Kevin Cummings, president and CEO of Investors Bank, with the Distinguished Community Partner Award. Mark T. Williams, community activist and chairman of Bridgeway’s Board of Trustees, will accept the Distinguished Volunteer Award.

"Without Bridgeway services, so many people would have returned home alone after a hospital stay. Some may have been homeless, if not for the intensive support and community linkages provided by Bridgeway staff and individuals like Ed, Kevin and Mark," Williams said in a news release. "We must ensure that no one goes without access to Bridgeway services well into the future."

The 50th Anniversary event will start at 6 p.m. with a wine and beer social hour, music by GoodWorks, a rock and soul band, and hors d’oeuvres. The social hour will be in the sixth-floor glass-walled conference center of Kean University’s STEM Building. A gourmet dinner by Encore Catering will follow in the ground-floor Atrium.

More information about Bridgeway’s 50th Anniversary Chairman’s Dinner is available under the News and Events tab at www.bridgewayrehab.org. To receive an invitation by mail, interested parties should email their standard mail address to feedback@bridgewayrehab.org.